The Cordish Companies has received the regulatory green-light to finalise the acquisition of Bossier City’s Diamond Jacks Casino & Hotel ahead of a multi-million dollar transformation.
This came courtesy of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board, which unanimously approved LRGC Gaming Investors, an affiliate of the group, to become an operator in the city.
In addition to undertaking a renovation of hotel and public spaces, Cordish has stressed that central to the project is the development of a land-based gaming facility to replace the existing casino riverboat.
Live! Casino & Hotel Louisiana, the plans regarding which were initially disclosed earlier in the year, is scheduled to open in 2025.
“We’re grateful to the Louisiana Gaming Control Board for their approval and thank them for their consideration and enthusiastic support through this process,” commented Joe Weinberg, Managing Partner of The Cordish Companies.
“Live! Casino & Hotel Louisiana will be a transformative development that will bring a first-class gaming, dining, entertainment, and hospitality experience, create significant new jobs, and generate millions of dollars in economic benefits for the community.
“We are extremely excited to continue moving forward with this project and deliver a world-class destination to the region.”
A presentation of the project, which is subject to approval by the LGCB,saw officials hear of a proposed over $270m investment that will span gaming, dining, entertainment and hotel facilities.
The destination is slated to comprise over 47,000-square-feet of gaming space, including over 1,000 slots and electronic table games and more than 40 live action table games, in addition to an on-site sportsbook space.
In addition, Live! Casino & Hotel Louisiana will also include a 550-room hotel, resort pool and fitness centre, 25,000-square foot multi-purpose events centre, more than six food and beverage outlets and structured and surface parking.
“The Louisiana Gaming Control Board is pleased to announce the approval of The Cordish Companies’ acquisition of the licence from the former Diamond Jacks property in Bossier City,” explained Ronnie Johns, Chair of Louisiana Gaming Control Board.
“Cordish has an exceptional reputation in providing first rate casino experiences as well as hospitality and entertainment venues across the country. We are pleased with their decision to bring their Live! brand to the state of Louisiana.
“We feel comfortable that their commitment to a first class $270m project will help grow the Bossier City/Shreveport gaming market. We welcome The Cordish Companies and look forward to working with them to bring this project to a reality to open sometime in 2025.”
The development of Live! Casino & Hotel in Bossier City continues what the company bills as “vast expansion” across markets in the south central and southeast regions of the US.
This includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas, where the company currently has over $1bn under construction adjacent to its Texas Live! development in the Arlington Entertainment District in North Texas.
